Thai Child, Adoption & Custody Documents — 6 Cases

A child born to a woman who is not married to the father is by law the legitimate child of the mother (Civil and Commercial Code section 1546). The father becomes the legal father only through one of the routes in section 1547: a later marriage between the parents, registration of legitimation, or a court judgment declaring the child to be his.

Registration at the district office uses form Kor Ror 11. Section 1548 requires the consent of both the child and the mother. If either cannot or does not appear to consent, the registrar cannot proceed and the father must apply to the Juvenile and Family Court for a judgment in place of that consent.

Where the child or the mother cannot or will not consent, section 1548 allows the father to apply to the court, and the child or the child's legal representative may separately sue to have the child declared legitimate on the grounds listed in section 1555.

These cases fall to the Juvenile and Family Court, which weighs evidence such as cohabitation during the period of conception, public acknowledgment of paternity, records of support, photographs, messages, and scientific testing where a party requests it.

Section 1598/19 of the Civil and Commercial Code requires an adopter to be at least twenty-five years old and at least fifteen years older than the person to be adopted. Sections 1598/20 and 1598/21 set out the consents required from the minor and from the birth parents.

Adoption of a child is also governed by the Child Adoption Act B.E. 2522, which requires approval by the Child Adoption Board and a period of trial custody set by law and regulation, supervised by the Department of Children and Youth under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.

Thailand is a party to the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, so adoption of a Thai child by an applicant residing abroad runs through the central authorities of both countries rather than a private arrangement between families.

On the Thai side the Child Adoption Centre of the Department of Children and Youth receives the file and places it before the Child Adoption Board. In the receiving country an accredited body prepares the home study and confirms the applicants' eligibility.

Parental power over a minor rests with the parents under section 1566 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which also lists the situations in which it rests with one parent alone — for example the death of the other parent, an adjudication of incompetency, or a court order allocating parental power.

In a consensual divorce, the agreement attached to the divorce registration usually records who exercises parental power, maintenance and contact arrangements. Thai and foreign authorities regularly ask for this document when considering travel, schooling or passport applications for the child.

A child born abroad to a Thai parent usually needs the foreign birth certificate for Thai civil-registration steps such as birth notification, addition to the house registration or a Thai passport application. The certificate follows the origin country's chain and Royal Thai Embassy or Consulate legalisation, then is translated into Thai.

Foreign court orders on paternity, custody or adoption take the same route, but whether they produce a registration or legal effect in Thailand is for the receiving Thai office or court to decide, and some cases need an additional Thai court step. Ask the receiving authority before legalising the whole set.